Budget Matters Blog

Entries By Jo Comerford


White House Holds State Calls About Budget Deal

The White House Office of Public Engagement has scheduled a series of ten state calls (see list and specific invitation below). Note there are two calls today (Wednesday) for folks in California and Colorado and the rest through the end of this week. You are welcome to forward this invitation ...

Mainers Want Their Federal Income Taxes Spent on Education, Health Care

In the midst of Congressional debates about debt, budget cuts, and tax increases, a “penny poll” was held in every Maine county asking participants, “How would you like your federal tax dollars spent?” Mainers Larry Dansinger and Lisa Savage were among the leading coordinators of this effort.Education, health care, and ...

Our Latest Webinar: Hitting the Debt Ceiling

Our latest webinar Hitting the Debt Ceiling is a 45-minute presentation (with Q&A) that will introduce people to the current debate in Washington related to raising the legal limit on the U.S. national debt, which will shortly reach $14.3 trillion.The government is set to officially reach the debt limit by ...

FY2012: Defining the Debt

National Priorities Project has released a new analysis of the competing budget plans issued by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.  In addition to its new analysis, NPP provides a set of tools which summarize the outcome of the FY2011 federal budget process and offer ...

What the heck does the federal budget have to do with Michigan?

I had the real privilege of speaking at the Michigan Forum on Jobs and Human Needs on Saturday, March 6, 2001. Sponsored by a great mix of labor, faith, peace and student groups, the event was held in Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital, which is located within Ingham County. Many ...

President Obama's 2012 Budget

NPP Provides State-Level Analysis of the President'sFiscal Year 2012 Budget RequestToday the White House released the Obama Administration's budget request for Fiscal Year 2012, which begins on October 1, 2011. As expected, the estimated $3.7 trillion FY2012 request contains a number of critical policy and fiscal goals, including: Reducing the ...

The FY2012 Budget Message of the President

To the Congress of the United States:America is emerging from the worst recession in generations. In 2010, an economy that had beenshrinking began to grow again. After nearly 2 years of job losses, America’s businesses added morethan one million jobs. Our capital and credit markets are functioning and strong. Manufacturing ...

What would you do with $1 trillion dollars? Ask a young filmmaker

The American Friends Service Committee and National Priorities Project are preparing to announce the six lucky winners of If I Had a Trillion Dollars (IHTD), a national video contest which asks young people to convey how they would spend the more than $1 trillion dollars spent on the U.S. wars ...

The work of the lame duck

Congress is scheduled to return on November 15 for what is known as a lame duck session – a post-election period when members who have been voted out of office return to Washington to continue work prior to January when the new Congress will be sworn in. Members will work ...

Jobs, Deficits & Taxes

On election night, Democrats and Republicans agreed - it's all about jobs, deficits and taxes.While they agree on the problem, they absolutely disagree on the solutions.And the big question is, what's going to happen in Congress?Join us as NPP demystifies three of the most pressing issues of our time from ...